Karel Valansi'nin kaleminden...

The new Community Foundations Election Regulation, which addresses the crucial demand of Turkey’s minorities, received a mixed welcome, but communities largely hailed the news. The regulation is in response to a key matter for the communities’ future as foundations primarily oversee everyday affairs, from running places of worship to hospitals serving the communities. The old regulation allowing the Community Foundations to elect their own board of directors was suspended in 2013. For the last nine years, a new regulation has been tried to put into action. Finally, it was issued by the government in June. “We advise our community to focus on the positive aspects of the regulation. Since the regulation is new, it will start showing results in time. We believe that constructive dialogues between Armenian and other minority communities and with the General Directorate of Foundations (VGM) are essential and valuable at this stage,” said Sahak II, the Armenian patriarch of Turkey. “In this ...

The new chapter in bilateral relations between Turkey and Israel opens the door for cooperation in many areas from energy to security as well as contributing to stability in the region, experts said while noting certain expectations and demands of the two sides from each other from a realist geopolitical perspective in which every international actor tries to maximize their interests. In recent months, the two regional powers have sought a rapprochement after nearly a decade of fractured ties, while Turkey has recently been working to improve relations with several countries in the Gulf and Middle East regions, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as part of  a normalization process  launched in 2020. Karel Valansi , a columnist with a weekly Turkish-Jewish newspaper Şalom, described the recent developments as “a new chapter in bilateral relations,” saying that there are many common interests and several issues that could benefit from the cooperati...

Our world has been in a process of transformation with the new technological paradigm, based on information and communication technologies. This structural transformation deeply affects the social composition of societies. As the world becomes smaller, informative and communicative technology creates a new form of society based on networking. Today we are connected to the outer world as never before. Manuel Castells, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, explains social transformation in society with the term "The Network Society." In his book "The Network Society: From Knowledge to Policy," he argues that society determines the use of technology according to its needs. Additionally, the internet is ample evidence that technology created a new form of social organization based on networking. This novelty changed the patterns and dynamics of the new reality we live in and it has consequences on policymaking, economy, and organi...

" Israel seeks to enforce redlines by containing Iran, proxies Israel has refrained from intervening in the Syrian civil war since its beginning but conducted limited air operations to key locations, what it often called more as pre-emptive strikes. "Israel's primary concern is to contain Iran and it tries to curb an Iranian permanent military foothold in Syria which will be against Israel," said Karel Valansi, a columnist at Şalom, the weekly Turkish-Jewish newspaper. She added that as Bashar Assad's presidency is "almost certain," Israel does not have any diplomatic or economic leverage in Syria, and that's why it directs diplomatic efforts to the U.S., Russia and EU countries. Last month, Israel announced that its aircraft launched an attack in September 2017 on a nuclear reactor located in the Deir ez-Zor region, which had been developed for many years and was reportedly due to enter into service in 2007. It was one of those many attacks that t...

One of the major challenges the European Union had to face in the last decade is the refugee crisis that erupted following the outbreak of the Syrian war. Currently, many member states are divided over the refugee issue. Strong nationalistic movements are emerging while populist leaders and right-wing parties are gaining more and more power. The peace that the EU could achieve after long and devastating wars, values like human rights and its soft power attract potential candidate states and also people who had to escape their homes for a safe and secure future. However, terrorist attacks carried out or inspired by Daesh made EU countries reluctant to accept refugees. The economic situation does not help either, as many EU states fight recession, high unemployment, low or negative growth and high debts. These factors cause dissatisfaction with current governments and the status quo in general. As a consequence, xenophobia and support for far-right parties increase throughout the EU...

We are witnessing the rebirth of nationalism. This may be caused by the global economic crisis, wars, refugees, unemployment, fear for the future, dissatisfaction, poverty, intolerance… Whatever the reason is, the consequences are similar; political parties with populist and nationalist agendas are rising, xenophobia is more apparent. Countries in the European Union are no exception. With the global economic crisis of 2008, which erupted shortly after the acceptance of the Treaty of Lisbon, many countries entered a period of recession. This was a consequence of the globalization that interconnected the world markets. At the same time, this crisis disrupted the integration process in the EU. As the unemployment figures rose, the dissatisfaction of the masses increased. The economic and monetary union made it impossible for countries to adjust their individual nationalist policies. This led to an opportunity for Euroskeptic leaders with anti-immigration, anti-refugee, anti-Euro, anti-...

Gun deaths are on the rise again in the United States. Just a few weeks ago,  a disturbed man pulled the trigger in Las Vegas  and rained bullets down from a hotel room window at an outdoor country music concert, killing 59 people and injuring more than 500 others. And this weekend, another deranged man entered a church in a small, rural town in Texas with a community of fewer than 400 people during Sunday services.